Pistorius lawyers to oppose leave to appeal

FILE PICTURE: Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock as sentence is delivered at the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, 21 October 2014. Picture: EPA

Lawyers for paralympian Oscar Pistorius have filed papers opposing the State’s application to appeal his culpable homicide conviction and sentence.

One of Pistorius’s lawyers Brian Webber confirmed this on Friday but declined to say on what grounds the appeal would be opposed.

“The grounds are contained in the documents,” he said.

On Tuesday, the National Prosecuting Authority announced that it had filed an application for leave to appeal Pistorius’s conviction and sentence.

The appeal against his conviction was based on a question of law, spokesman Nathi Mncube said at the time.

Pistorius was jailed for five years for the culpable homicide killing of his girlfriend, law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp. He shot her dead through the locked toilet door in his Pretoria home on February 14 last year.

A file picture dated 04 November 2012 shows South African paralympic and Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius (R) posing with his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp (L), at the South African sports awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 12 September 2014. The sentence is expected to be announced on 21 October. EPA/FRENNIE SHIVAMBU

In court papers the State described this sentence as “shockingly light and inappropriate”.

For discharging a firearm at Tasha’s restaurant in Sandton, Johannesburg, in January 2013, he was sentenced to three years in jail, suspended for five years. The sentences would run concurrently, Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled in the High Court in Pretoria on October 21.

A file picture dated 16 October 2014 shows Judge Thokozile Masipa, istening to proceedings during day four of sentencing procedures of South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius at the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa. Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 12 September 2014. The sentence is expected to be announced on 21 October. EPA/ALON SKUY/POOL

The SABC reported that the appeal would be heard in the High Court in Pretoria on November 18.